1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer software and, in particular, to a system and method of building a software platform that is used for management and development of service-oriented software modules and applications; this system and method leverages its own service-oriented artifacts in its own construction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) provide an example of a system that uses its own core artifacts as part of its own construction. For example, in most RDBMS, “system” tables are used to hold catalog and metadata information about all end user and system tables. The idea is that if database tables are a good way to hold data and metadata, the RDBMS itself should use it to hold its own information. Indeed, by using the system artifacts as part of the implementation of the system, the system inherits some of the benefits that it aims to provide the end user.
The current art of building software platforms that aim to provide service-oriented development and management capabilities do not utilize self-produced, service-oriented artifacts as a significant part of their construction. As a result, construction and customization of such platforms do not directly benefit from the advantages of service-oriented architecture and programming methods. The current art of implementing service-oriented development and/or management results in platforms that are too hard, impractical or even impossible to customize at a granular level.